K + 12: Its Dim Light of Promise

                According to Republic Act no. 10533 Sec.2 paragraph no.1, “The State shall establish, maintain and support a complete adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people, the country and society-at-large.” Therefore, the law itself anchored that K-12 has to exist and be maintained because it is the solution to the needs of the people. Getting jobs after they graduate senior high is a need of course but the curriculum itself is highly decongested in the senior high part wherein the students are immersed into several tech-voc tracks paired with core curriculum subjects and through this congested phase, still it is too much of a burden of the student to finish. Therefore, the aim to decongest was not met, it actually focused that still the K12 graduates will be eligible for college level.

                R.A. 10533 mentioned that the students must inculcate “…the capability to engage in autonomous, creative and critical thinking and the capacity and willingness to transform others and one’s self.” Let me highlight the word, critical thinking. Even in the old system, the curriculum itself was not a guarantee that critical thinking was spurred. More or like the graduates were again designed to simply follow and do not ask questions and how much more in a technically oriented curriculum where there is lesser room to hone the liberal arts section of the student especially that they will be more focused in their tech-voc tracks.

                Although there is section 4, paragraph 6 which states that “…teaching materials and assessment shall be in the regional or native language of the learners.” Moreover, section 5, paragraph 3 E states that “The curriculum shall use pedagogical approaches that are constructivist, inquiry-based, reflective, collaborative and integrative.” Of which I think on the first part, Renato Constatino would be happy and on the second part that the law promulgates the kind of strategy that I find most suiting to the disciplines I learned as a philosophy student.

                “We need to add two years to our basic education. Those who can afford to pay up to 14 years of schooling before university. Thus, their children are getting into the best universities and the best jobs after graduation. I want at least 12 years for our public school children to give them an even chance of succeeding.” It is an edge actually to graduate from a university but let us remember that the K12 is addressed to the Basic Education sector which in the said new curriculum makes their graduates designed to finish it when they are 18 years of age. Which is still incomparable to those who can still manage to afford a university and graduate then after. The program only reassures that the graduate after senior high will be employable yet cannot compete to those who achieved as much as those who finished college. Big time companies would prefer those who went to universities, unless of course the major plan of K12 is to rapidly export our human resources. One of the challenges also is how to change the culture of the human resource departments in the business realm.

                “Longer time spent in education increases the likelihood of employment.” There is no doubt at all that when one enjoyed a lengthy yet adequate time being educated will definitely be learned, skilful and will bear a huge potential to become part of the workforce. However, the present dilemma, currently shows that the current system cannot even address to those who have already degrees surpassing the tertiary level. Moreover, there are many misalignments happening because there is less effort placed in creating an industry inside the country that will generate more jobs and manage to make the economy stable and satisfactory from within.

                Inasmuch as the popular setbacks faced in the implementation especially with shortages of classrooms and a teacher student ration of 1:60. How about us who belonged to the HEI’s? The design of the law was focused in having a curriculum that is aligned with the other countries with a seeming benevolent act to raise the standards of graduates but a clear motive to make a fluid exportation of graduates soon especially that there are lacking job offers inside the country. The law was not looking on the side of the universities and colleges who will be having no business for two years. Although, inside the BED, there are in fact shortages of teachers before and during the gradual implementation of K12 but shall we say can the soon to be displaced college teachers be all fit to fill in the shortage? Moreover, there is that two years of problematic space of no students in the university. To those whose specialties are addressed in the first part of the senior year, then there is no worry for them because they will just be easily fitted in and no space of joblessness occurs. But how about those whose expertise will be needed in the latter parts of the senior years, (take note, a year without a job and unpaid is damaging already) and all the more the tenured university and college teachers who still have to wait for 2 or more years to have their teaching loads filled with students and maybe there will be a decrease in enrolees to their level due to the employability status enjoyed by the first batch of k12 graduates. All the more, how about the non-teaching personnel, how would they survive if the universities they are into have nothing to do.

                There is the popular scare of HEI’s who are not legible to be in the BED due to the fact that some of them are not licensed teachers. Would they have a chance to fill in the void of the said shortage? Actually, there is a clear portion in a provision entitled “DOLE-DEPED-TESDA-CHED Joint Guidelines on the Implementation of the Labor and Management Component of Republic Act No. 10533” that made those unlicensed teachers be employed into BED but with a condition that upon being hired, they should comply within 5 years to have a license which is more or like a probationary status that you must be in need to fill the desired requirement for eligibility. However, DEPED proceedings bears also their hiring procedures through a ranking scale which then gives an edge and priority to those who already has a license. Unless that of course that there is an immediate need then the said teacher can fill in and enjoy the 5 years to get a license status.

                All in all, by law there is the assurance by paper that the displaced college teachers can be helped, but granting the kind of system we had, it makes it a little unsure of how the full bloom of the K12 will really give us our temporary redemption.